Skip to Content

Can I even think of Five Frugal Things?

This past week hasn’t exactly been a tip-top one as far as frugality goes.   While I was only seriously sick for a day, the food poisoning left me in an un-hungry, weakened state for the rest of the week.

Boo.

I’m not one to sit around for days at a time, so this was not my favorite thing ever.

The cast of Call The Midwife show.

On the upside, my kids are old enough to be pretty independent, which means it IS actually possible to rest. And I did watch nearly three seasons of Call the Midwife on Netflix.

Even that gets old after a while, though.

(Incidentally, I thought the first two seasons were better than the third, and I wasn’t surprised to read that those were the two seasons based on the actual books by the same name. The first season was hands-down my favorite though, both because of the storylines and the late 1950’s fashions.   Also, is Chummy not the best character ever?? So lovable.)

Let’s see if I can think of five frugal things. Because I did get off the couch for at least a little while last week.

I got a free part from Moen.

The hot water flow from my faucet started to be problematic, so I called Moen and they sent me a new cartridge, free of charge, with free shipping.

Yay!

moen reflex faucet install

I put it in, and the hot water is back to its old self.

I’m noticing the spring mechanism in the soap dispenser is having issues too, so I think I’ll call them to see if there’s anything they can do.

I cleaned out the pipes underneath my kids’ bathroom sink.

The bathroom sink wasn’t draining properly, and the clog was more than I could reach through the sink itself.

Luckily(?), this has happened before, and I knew the pipes underneath the sink were very easy to take apart and reassemble.

So, I unscrewed them, gave them a good clean (so gross), and reassembled them.

The drain is working great again.

The End.

We replaced a toilet handle.

It broke while Mr. FG was at work, and I planned to let him deal with it post-work.

But Joshua got home earlier and volunteered to go buy the replacement part and put it in. He just needed a little help from me, and our toilet was back in business.

(Why yes. We DID have a lot of plumbing-related troubles last week. Oy.)

We managed mostly without takeout.

Mr. FG did eat a lot of lunches out, since he usually takes leftovers, and we were very short on those.

But as far as dinner goes, there wasn’t a ton of takeout…just three subs on Tuesday, and a small pizza on Friday.   Phew.

I feel like that’s not too bad for what could have been a very expensive week with the main cook and grocery shopper out of commission.

Ummm….

What for number five?   Hmm.

I used very little gas, because I went almost nowhere, aside from what was necessary.

_________________

Your turn!

Please do share your own Five Frugal Things in the comments. Inspire us!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Lily @ The Frugal Gene

Thursday 29th of June 2017

Oh my god no way! My husband replaced a toilet handle this week too!! I saw it was coming loose and I thought...my goodness does that mean we have buy a new toilet? Turn it's really an easy fix, you have to get the hands a little wet though haha!

Joanne

Wednesday 28th of June 2017

Having a difficult body shape for shorts, I realized I was without them when the temperature went up. I decided to sacrifice an old pair of pants by cutting/hemming the legs and it worked tremendously. So good in fact that I bought a second hand cheap pair of pants to convert into shorts as well. This involved not only cutting off the legs but also taking in the waist band to get rid of an enormous 8 inch gap (thanks to plenty of how-to's on internet). It's not perfect yet, but already fit to wear plus I gained a new skill, and I boosted my self confidence.

Katie

Tuesday 27th of June 2017

I remember a while ago you had mentioned that you bought TubShrooms. How have they been working for you? We have them too and I have mixed feelings... You just mentioned your sink clog so it reminded me to ask!

Kristen

Tuesday 27th of June 2017

I really like the TubShroom one. That fits really well, and it keeps the hair from going down the drain.

The sinkshroom doesn't fit our sink drain quite as nicely, but it does seem to keep hair out. The buildup in the pipes was def. from before we ever got the SinkShroom, so I can't blame it on a malfunction there...it wasn't a hair clog!

Maria

Tuesday 27th of June 2017

Glad you are feeling better. I also had a stomach bug for 3 days. Going on season 3 of Breaking Bad! My 5 frugal things: 1. I was down to one wine glass which we also use for drinking water at dinner and thought I had to buy a set of 4 when I found a new boxed set of 4 in the garage. 2. I scored my favorite yarn on sale plus a $10 off coupon for the purchase. 3. We went to Happy Hour for dinner and drinks. Half off food and drinks. 4. My hubby scored a part-time job in retirement and got paid this week. We were able to put $1000 in our savings. 5. I earned a free $20 iTunes card from Ibotta .

Kristen

Tuesday 27th of June 2017

There's nothing quite like a Netflix binge to take your mind off of your pain, right??

Miss Lani Make Do

Tuesday 27th of June 2017

It's difficult to think of things this week, that's for sure! Let's see how I do...

1. Even though I've been wanting take away food, I spent $20 on ingredients that will get me through the whole week instead. 2. I took public transport to all my appointments today instead of driving. 3. I have been turning down items that I think I need but can do without for now, from more practical life things like glass jars to tiny things like a new jar of coconut oil. It can all wait! 4. I've turned two lunch dates into coffee dates - not entirely frugal, but a $4 coffee is a lot better than a $20 lunch. 5. I didn't buy a QANTAS jet (sorry, Aussie here)!

Katie

Sunday 2nd of July 2017

Haha, was buying a Qantas jet an option for you this week? I live in PNG, so a Qantas jet (or even an Air Niugini jet) would be useful!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.